So the mechanism is normal but there is just more energy being pumped into the system lately? That sounds crazy to me given the latitude but the geography explanation makes sense. The article said it's like a giant Death Valley.

My understanding is the hot air is high pressure, meaning no cold air can get in, and the mountains block movement of the system as a whole. This implies to me that the hotter it gets the more 'sticky' it might get in staying around for longer. Not sure if that's true but thunderstorms in dry heat are never great, they're a regular source of fires.