Since only one airplane can occupy the same airspace at the same time, and thunderstorms rarely stay constant, the weather your flight experienced probably was, to some unknown degree, different than the airplane directly ahead of or behind you flight into Madrid.
Since you're not giving us any additional information (what did the crew know and when did they know it?) your story lacks context. There's always a first, and last, flight when an airport closes.
I've been the first guy to go around, been the first guy to refuse takeoff, last guy to land, and have landed when other flights have diverted/gone around. It just depends on the situation that I'm dealing with, and not what the guy ahead of, or behind me, is experiencing.