title: 3d numpy record array
body: <p>Is is possible to have a 3-D record array in numpy? (Maybe this is not possible, or there is simply an easier way to do things too -- I am open to other options).</p>
  
  <p>Assume I want an array that holds data for 3 variables (say temp, precip, humidity), and each variable's data is actually a 2-d array of 2 years (rows) and 6 months of data (columns), I could create that like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt;&gt;&gt; import numpy as np
  
  &gt;&gt;&gt; d = np.array(np.arange(3*2*6).reshape(3,2,6))
  &gt;&gt;&gt; d
  
  #
  # comments added for explanation...
  #        jan   feb   mar   apr   may   Jun    
  
  array([[[ 0,    1,    2,    3,    4,    5],   # yr1  temp
          [ 6,    7,    8,    9,   10,   11]],  # yr2  temp
  
         [[12,   13,   14,   15,   16,   17],   # yr1  precip
          [18,   19,   20,   21,   22,   23]],  # yr2  precip
  
         [[24,   25,   26,   27,   28,   29],   # yr1  humidity
          [30,   31,   32,   33,   34,   35]]]) # yr2  humidity
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I'd like to be able to type:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt;&gt;&gt; d['temp']
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>and get this (the first "page" of the data):</p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt;&gt;&gt; array([[ 0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5],
             [ 6,  7,  8,  9, 10, 11]])
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>or:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt;&gt;&gt; d['Jan']   # assume months are Jan-June
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>and get this </p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt;&gt;&gt; array([[0,6],
            [12,18],
            [24,30]])
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I have been through this: <a href="http://www.scipy.org/RecordArrays" rel="noreferrer">http://www.scipy.org/RecordArrays</a> a number of times, but don't see how set up what I am after.</p>