physical dimensions and array dimensions
I believe that the rainfall value shouldn't be a dimension. Therefore, you could use 2D array[lat][lon] = rainfall_value or 3D array[time][lat][lon] = rainfall_value respectively.
If you want to reduce number of dimensions further, you can combine latitude and longitude into one dimension as you suggested, which would make arrays 1D/2D.
If I have a rainfall map which has three dimensions (latitude, longitude and rainfall value), if I put it in an array, do I need a 2D or 3D array? How would the array look like?
If I have a series of daily rainfall map which has four dimensions (lat, long, rainfall value and time), if I put it in an array, do I need a 3D or 4D array?
I am thinking that I would need a 2D and 3D arrays, respectively, because the latitude and longitude can be represented by a 1D array only (but reshaped such that it has more than 1 rows and columns). Enlighten me please.