An A319's air-conditioning system malfunctioned after takeoff causing a very high cabin temperature. An emergency was declared and the flight diverted to a nearby airport.

Narrative

Takeoff was delayed due ground stop and thunderstorms. Takeoff was about 1 hour past scheduled time. During takeoff; there was quite a bit of vibration in the nose wheel; which was a previous write-up. Climbout was normal; until through FL230 flight attendants started to call about heat in cabin. Captain checked temps and found Zone Duct Temp for forward cabin read 168 degrees. I then continued to fly the aircraft and also worked the radios; while the Captain continued to work the problem and coordinate with the flight attendants. Returning to our departure airport was not an option due to thunderstorms returning to the area. Another option was about 40 miles ahead so we elected to divert there. As we descended into our divert airport; thunderstorms were in the area as well. After deviating around the storms; we established final approach with the ILS. Cabin duct temps started to come down after we depressurized below 10;000 FT. Cabin temps were still very uncomfortable even after landing. We taxied in and the ground handling contract folks took care of getting the passengers to the terminal. Flight attendants did a fantastic job maintaining control of the cabin as many of the passengers were upset and wanting to get off of the airplane as soon as possible.