Raccoons don’t hibernate, so you’ll see them around, but they den up when the snow is too deep. Then they come out and destroy your garbage cans 🙂 Check around to make sure you don’t have any nice cozy corners for them to curl up in. We had one under our porch – it moved there after we fixed the garage roof. We fixed the porch, and it seems to have moved away.
And don’t fool with them yourself – they can bite pretty competently. Call an exterminator or Animal Control.