The effect of stretching on the three-dimensional stability of a viscous unsteady vortex is addressed. The basic flow, which satisfies the Navier–Stokes equations, is a vortex with axial flow subjected to a time-dependent strain field oriented along its axis. The linear equations for the three-dimensional perturbations of the stretched vortex are first reduced by using successive changes of variables to equations which are almost identical to those of the unstretched vortex but with time-dependent parameters. These equations are then numerically solved in the particular case of the Batchelor vortex with a strain field which first compresses then stretches the vortex. Through this simulation, it is qualitatively demonstrated how the simultaneous action of stretching and azimuthal vorticity may destabilize a vortex. It is also argued that it provides a possible mechanism for the vortex bursts observed in turbulence experiments.